Golden Retriever Rescued After State Trooper Crawls Into Drain Pipe to Save Her

A missing golden retriever is now home safe after having been stuck in a drain pipe near her home in upstate New York, and it was all thanks to a state trooper who saved the day.

Thirteen-year-old Lilah had been missing for days when her owner, Rudy Fuehrer, heard her yelps about 100 feet down the road from his Binghamton home. Fuehrer said he was walking his two other dogs, her pups, when he recognized her bark coming from the inside of a pipe, the Associated Press reported.

Fuehrer attempted to lure her out with peanut butter dog treats and cheese, but when he was unable to, he called 911.

State Trooper Jimmy Rasaphone and his partner, State Trooper Ana Reynas, arrived minutes later, and quickly decided that one of them would descend into the 2-foot-wide pipe to save the dog. Rasaphone, being the smaller of the two, volunteered.

With Lilah’s leash in hand, Rasaphone descended about 15 feet into the pipe and was able to get her on a collar and bring her out, authorities said.

“He crouched down and literally disappeared into the hole with a lead that had a choker on it,” Fuehrer told the AP. “He was able somehow to manipulate his arms and get the choker around the dog’s head.”

Lilah is making a full recovery, and has since been going on walks with her owner on the leash.

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